My clansmen were congregated Saturday at Roosevelt State Park in Georgia. The North Face Challenge hosted a 50 miler, 50k and a full marathon.
I ran the marathon as a training run for my upcoming ultra in Utah. The greatest challenge was to keep my pace. NO RACING. I promised my coach that I would behave. I'm thankful that I didn't know how close I was to placing top 3 or how much money was given out, otherwise, I may have reneged on my promise!
The course is brutal. 3875 ft of elevation changes (mountain goat territory), bloomin' large and loose rocks all through the course, precarious rock ledges--absolutely a blast. I only fell twice. Everyone was sporting blood. My steady pace attracted a pack and soon I had a gaggle of runners behind me. Too many people sped off too quickly, only to find themselves walking up hills or upside down after fast descents. From around mile 5 to 20, we ran steadily. No walking up hills, sometimes it was a granny shuffle up the steepest ones, but we passed so many other runners with this strategy.
A 25 year old speedster had fallen 4 times when I caught up to her around mile 6. She was actually stopped, the course had zapped her self-confidence. She fell in directly behind me and eventually passed me to earn 4th overall female. I prefer to run alone with my dog...in silence. This was my first experience helping out other runners and I feel privileged to have been of service. I called back encouragements and stopped to check on those who fell. There was an instant kinship between the 25 year old and I. I never thought I'd truly enjoy running with someone else...go figure.
I had to stop around mile 22 because the accumulation of pebbles in my shoes were no longer bearable. By that time, it was only the two of us and I flagged her on to go kick some butt.
The first female clocked in at 5hrs 51 minutes, I trotted in at 6:13. Good enough to be 5th female overall and 1st in my age group. Won some cool arm warmers!
During the awards ceremony, the race director was called away to help with an extraction of a seriously injured runner on the trail. Dean Karnazes, an ultra marathon legend, who had been handing out the awards, was left standing in front of me. I took the opportunity to go shake his hand. I have touched greatness! Here's a partial list of his accomplishments: running 50 marathons, in 50 states, in 50 days; running marathons in all 7 continents (yup, Antarctica too); running from LA to NYC...a phenom. He's down to earth, friendly and totally devoted to promoting running. I was concerned about my marathon aroma, but my running buddy noted that he was no fresh daisy after his run and tumble either.
What a glorious day!
Friends and family have echoed the same concern: "You'll never meet anyone nice running through the woods like a banshee". Allay your fears, I have been united with my tribe!
